Wednesday, May 31, 2017

A big finish and a tiny giveaway...

Good morning! And how are my stitching friends on this final day of May? Summer has "unofficially" started with the Memorial Day weekend, but it is still feeling rather cool and springlike here--I am longing for those warm 75° days when I don't have to dress in layers and the furnace is no longer coming on in the house! Hopefully, by the next time I post, we will have some true summer weather.

Before I show you my "big" finish, I want to express my thanks for your wonderful comments on my previous post. You were all so sweet with your compliments about my mom's 90th birthday party (and my beautiful mom!). As I told some of you--the smile on her face made all of my hard work worthwhile. She loved reading everyone's comments and wants to thank you all for your kind "Happy Birthday" wishes! Throughout my blogging journey, my mom has been one of my biggest supporters--always reading each post, telling me "that was a good one," and being amazed at, and interested in, the friends that I have made (from all around the world) as a result of my little old blog... So, thank you--stitching friends are the best!

So, after five months, my "big" (for me!) finish is done--"A Walk In the Woods" was completed last week and I love it more each time I see it. I began stitching this Cricket Collection design as my "New Year's start" and have worked on it intermittently since then.

"A Walk In the Woods"--all finished up!!

I used 40 ct. flax Newcastle linen with most of the suggested DMC threads for this piece. I did change the dark purple color to a less vibrant 3740 as I thought it looked better with the subdued colors of this sampler. I also made quite a few changes to the letters. Many of them had a straight line running across the tops of the "open" letters like the U, V, X, and Y that closed the letter off and I didn't like that look. So I omitted the lines and redesigned a few of the letters of the alphabet.

Love that little nest!

My biggest change was to the right of the date--there was supposed to be a crown there. What? I know samplers often include crown motifs, but I just didn't understand what it had to do with this sampler. Everything else is nature related so I found a simple bouquet motif in one of my stitching books, changed the colors to blues and purples, embellished it a bit, and voilà--I had my final motif! You can get a better glimpse of it in this photo... I thought it looked as though I had walked through the woods and picked a delicate bunch of posies to take home with me!

I added the little bouquet

So, what is your favorite motif on our nature walk? I really love the nest with the lone blue egg, but that border of violas is what first drew me to this design. I am just thrilled with this finish and I am considering sending it to be framed by Jill Rensel. I'm sure it will be quite expensive, but I've long admired the magic Jill does with her frames. Have any of you sent things to her? I just love scrolling through her blog and seeing her work!

Nature's beauty in stitches...

Unfortunately, not much other stitching has been going on. Like a lot of you, this is a busy, busy time for outdoor chores. We've been planting, transplanting, pruning, and mulching in our free time. At times, it feels rather hopeless, because, chances are, the deer will eat what we've planted. But, they usually avoid the geraniums, petunias, and ferns that we chose, so--fingers crossed! Things are looking a bit sparse right now, but I hope to fill in with a few more plants in the coming weeks.

Our patio garden

Ferns seem to love our yard, so we transplanted several to the front of the porch. We've put out the porch furniture since I took the photo below, too--I can hardly wait to sit there and stitch on a warm June day.

Transplanted ferns seem to be loving our front porch!

Just love the bright yellow of these tuberous begonias. Sam's Club was selling these--all potted up with the English Ivy--for only $14.99! Wish I had bought more than two pots...

Floral sunshine

Blue salvia and pink coral bells come back year after year

We've had tons of bunnies (yay!!) visiting our yard and I caught these two playing hide and seek behind the rose bush (which hasn't bloomed yet because the deer keep attacking it!). Do you see the deer antlers lying on the ground? My husband found them in the woods behind our house last year and placed them in the garden as a sort of decoration (and to ward off the deer--ha ha!). Anyway, I noticed that the antlers seemed to be "melting" and getting smaller and smaller over the past year. Then one day, I spotted a tiny squirrel nibbling away at them! It seems that the antlers provide needed calcium to squirrels, chipmunks, and other rodents and also help sharpen their teeth! Who knew?!

Bunny hide and seek!

Patriotic stitching, anyone? Since many of us are stitching patriotic pieces this time of year, I came across this chart in an old magazine that I thought one of you might like. If you are interested in giving this chart a new home,
just let me know in your comments. This is just two pages torn from a
magazine--not the whole magazine.
If more than one person wants it, I will do a drawing. PLEASE, PLEASE make sure to include your email in with your comment--I
won't be trying to track anyone down if they haven't included their
email address... Also, just so you know, I will be folding this up and
mailing it in a legal sized envelope to save on postage. I'll announce the winner the next time I post...

I'm having a giveaway for this cute patriotic chart

Lots of traveling will be happening in June as we have back to back family weddings on opposite coasts of the United States. Yep--almost 3000 miles apart! Two different nephews from each side of the family are getting married a week apart and, although I'm looking forward to seeing all the extended family, I'm not looking forward to all that travel. But, after these trips are over, we can relax for the summer--can't wait!

Thank you so much for visiting me today--and a special thanks to all of you who take the time to comment. I do appreciate each and every one! Hope you have a lovely day and manage to fit in at least some stitching time during this busy, busy season. Bye for now...

83 comments:

A big congratulations on such a beautiful finish Carol. I like the changes you made and like you nest is my fav motif.What lovely pics of your garden! I'm amazed at the variation in climate in parts of the world where my blogging friends live.Here in Kuwait, we are experiencing a severe sandstorm with temperatures upto 118deg F. A indoor seasons for us.I missed reading your last post..will get on to it now.

What a beautiful finish Carol and I can't pick out just one motif that I really like as this piece reminds me of a walk in the woods here as you see most of what is stitched. Unfortunately it seems to be things we take for granted and I have to thank you for opening my eyes to this. You will absolutely love the framing of Jill Rensel!!!! I had my first piece done this year and was not overly surprised with the cost at all. She honestly is no more than having a piece professionally framed by someone else. She does an incredible job and is super nice to deal with. I highly recommend her. So glad to hear that you shared the comments with your mom. I do the same with mine and she just loves it. Have an incredible day my dear friend. Blessings.....

Well that little nest of eggs is my favorite motif. The sampler is just GORGEOUS!! And isn't it fun to change a few things to make a sampler your own in a small way? Your yard is beautiful as well. Wish I had your green thumb!! I love the patriotic chart but i will leave it for someone else as I have two pieces going( Lady Liberty and Betsy Ross) that I hope to finish before July 4th!!

Carol, congratulations to you on your gorgeous Walk in the Woods finish! I really like your changes especially the sweet bouquet instead of the crown. I enjoyed the stroll through your gardening pictures; those begonias are gorgeous. Lucky you with having bunnies in your yard; so far, we haven't seen any in our yard. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Love love love your Walk in the Woods finish! I have this in my stash, too, but have yet to stitch it. I think my favorite motif is the little bunch of blue flowers between the E and the F - they look like (from here, anyway!) forget-me-nots, which I have always found endearing. And great personalization, too, with the changes to letters and the little bouquet!I had Jill frame my daughter's birth sampler, and was pleasantly surprised at how affordable it was. At that time (gosh, was it REALLY almost 7 years ago?!?!?), she asked for a price range before she put together some different options, and there were many emails back and forth regarding mat colors, frame options, etc. It was a great experience, and I would highly recommend her!(No need to enter me in your giveaway...I have plenty of stash... :) )

Thank you for sharing your beautiful creations. I love the changes that you made especially adding the bouquet of flowers to finish. I enjoy all things patriotic. Please include me in your drawing! cblemaster42785@gmail.com :)

Walk in the Woods is wonderful and I like the feather. Here I thought the bouquet went there anyway! Beautiful plants, Carol. I can smell the green from here! Why don't you come out here where I'm at and get your summer weather where it's supposed to be 89 degrees tomorrow. I'm just not ready for the hot:( Safe travels!

Beautiful finish, Carol. I can see why that border drew you to the piece and while I am not familiar with the original, your changes certainly have resulted in a lovely piece.

Hope your travels go well. We have just finished a month of travel, also coast to coast, and while most of it went well, a return from the east coast which should have taken about 6 hours instead took about 15. I am hoping that trip provides good karma for a big one we are planning in the fall.

What a beautiful finish, Carol. No one would guess that you felt a bit intimidated by the size. It really does deserve a JR framing. Your yard is gorgeous; unfortunately I have a brown thumb, so I'll enjoy seeing your greenery instead. You do have quite a bit of travel coming up, but there's no better reason than a wedding! Enjoy your journeys.

What a beautiful finish. I absolutely love that pattern. My favorite motifs are the bird, butterfly and bee. I hope you have a wonderful time at both of your weddings. Congratulations to both couples. Thank you for the chance to win that cute patriotic chart. francaswell3@verizon.net

Wow you did a great job on your walk in the woods piece - it looks awesome. I agree a crown wouldn't look as nice as your bouquet does. I hope your warmer weather comes soon - we are just hitting the eighties now late this year. Enjoy your weddings on both coast

Beautiful stitching Carol of a lovely design.I love all parts of it , the single viola the sweet little bird and yes the butterfly .Carol you have a beautiful garden I love the plants you have planted .Every where looks so pretty .Have a lovely month at your families weddings, and take time to rest up too.

Carol, Congratulations on such a delightful finish. Do I really have to chose a motif? If I did, I think I would choose the butterfly...no, the bee...no, the flower bouquet you added...no...I just can't choose one.

Your garden looks beautiful. I am one of those people who just does not enjoy working in the yard, but I admire everyone else's flowers whenever I can.

My favorite motive on your Beautiful Finish is the Snail. I think that is what the little bug is called between the G and the H. You have the most wonderful porch. Of course your flowers, gardens, landscape is pretty, but there is nothing like a porch on Summer Nights.

I would love to be included in your Drawing. email address is groverc53@yahoo.com.

Oh Carol I just love this sampler and how it turned out. A "walk in the woods" is now on my wish list. I love how you changed the crown to a bouquet of flowers...perfect addition. I like how you changed the letters too...as you have said before the little things make such a big difference. I can't wait to see how Renzel studio frames it but I know it will be gorgeous. I can't resist patriotic stitches so please put me in your drawing rjgator96@gmail.com Thank you. Have a super week and thank you for stopping by to see us today. RJ @stitchingfriendsforever2

Such a beautiful finish! I love the butterfly motif, but it is hard to choose just one. I have always admired the work that Rensel studio does framing, your piece would turn out fantastic in their hands! Your yard is beautiful as well. I also battle the deer for my flowers, now that I have an apple tree for them to enjoy out in the far yard, they have been leaving my hostas alone. Enjoy your summer!

Congratulations on your WitW finish - it is *gorgeous* and your changes are perfect! I, too, like that nest with the one blue egg, but the fat little bird has always been my favorite motif. Don't you think he'd make a cute scissor fob? (note to self: dig out that chart, lol)

Carol, this is so lovely! It's difficult to pick a favorite motif but, if you make me, I'd pick the bee - so sweet! It's beautiful - well done. [I have severe garden and bunny envy, too!] KarenLMertens@gmail.com

Congratulations on you BIG finish! I love it looks and the changes you made. Your flowers and plants are so pretty. Have you tried the deer repellant spray? We have used it with good success. Enjoy the time with family at the weddings. Wishing you safe travels.

Very interesting about the antlers! I'm so glad you left them so the woodland critters could nibble away at them. Love the bouquet you added! I think my favorite motif is the bee - at least it is the one that my eye keeps getting drawn in by.

Hi Carol, That's a wonderful finish and I loved the changes you made :) I like the nest and the feather motifs. Your garden looks lovely and what a nice place you have got to sit and stitch. You are waiting for the summer to come and I am waiting for it to be over, so that my plants will get a relief from excess heat. Enjoy the weddings! I don't like travelling either, makes me feel my life is not settled. But once the travel is over, I feel it wasn't that bad and that I should travel more.

Congrats on your beautiful finish.I love all of the nature motifs in this Sampler, but the Violas are my favorite.Your Begonias are beautiful.They remind me of my Mom, she had many, those and Primroses were her favorites.Oh, I love your porch!What a great place to sit and stitch.Marilyn

Carol, I adore your Walk in the Woods!! I take a walk in the woods most every day with my dog and nothing could be more relaxing. This stitch certainly speaks to me! Your changes were perfect, I don't see a crown on that stitch at all and my favorite change was your little bundle of posies. I'm also drawn to the nest and bird.

I think this piece is deserving of a Jill Rensel finish and one day I hope to have a stitch to frame worthy of her talents. I think you should treat yourself!

Your garden is lovely and I know what you mean about the deer and weather!! Have you tried liquid fence? I swear by it for keeping the deer off your plants, you have to respray after rain though. It even keeps them off the hostas!! Mary@stitchingfriendsforever

Love that finish. You are so clever with the modifications to customize it for your purposes. I think you always improve on the original when you do this. Designers should use you as a consultant/editor! And if anyone deserves a Jill Rensel framing, it's you!

I'm never big on garden posts in general, but I do love seeing the bunnies! Do all stitchers have a weakness for bunnies?

Congrats on a lovely woodsy finish! It seems to fit with your gardens.I love the nest with the tiny blue egg. Every time my husband and I find a nest on the ground after a storm, we are filled with awe and then sadness that it will not be filled again.Loved seeing your garden posts too.

What a beautiful finish,Carol,congratulations. I like everything about it,it is to difficult to chose a favourite motif.It will look fabulous framed by Jill Rensel.I love your photo of the Salvia and Coral Bell,so pretty.I hope you get to sit on your porch soon,what a perfect place to stitch.Enjoy your weddings and safe journies to both of them.

Carol...your Walk in the Woods piece is beautiful! I just love it and even have this in my stash to stitch one day. I will have to remember your idea about the bouquet of flowers in place of the crown. I just love the butterfly but the nest comes in a very close second for favorite motif. It would look great framed by Jill. My wedding sampler is with her now and she has framed 5 pieces for me in the past. She is great to work with although she is not fast. It's worth the wait though!

Your garden is fabulous! Enjoy the weddings...I am sure they will both be joyful and fun!

Wonderful finish, Carol and I love the changes that you made - so perfect! My favourite motif is the nest, as well, I think. It sounds to me like you are going to have a fabulous summer - I love your porch, it looks like a perfect stitching spot. Please count me in for the giveaway - I love Americana stitching. My email address is kayedep@gmail.com. Have a great day, hugs, Kaye xxx

Good evening Carol! I just hopped on to read your post before I put my iPad away for the night to read a book before I doze off! I really love your finish. I think the changes you made are perfect and admire your ability to go "off-chart" to make it right for you. I haven't heard of the framer before, but I'll have to go take a look. I have used a framer in Cincinnati at Keepsake Floral and Framing and she does such a good job - worth the $$ it takes to have something framed well.

I hope you get plenty of stitching time on your travels. I always have the best of intentions to stitch when I get on a long flight, but usually wind up reading instead. I bet the weddings will be fun so hope the travel goes as well as it can, especially these days!

Hope you have a great Friday and look forward to reading about your travels, garden, and upcoming stitching - happy June!

Went back and read your previous post and what an awesome party for your mom! And I would have to agree; your mom is beautiful! A Walk In the Woods has such pretty colors and motifs! My eyes seem to be drawn to that little snail. : ) That is quite a green thumb you have! Your gardens are just beautiful! Like you, I'm longing for some warmer days. : )

Your Walk In The Woods turned out beautifully! Congratulations on your finish. I hope you let us see it when it's framed! I think my favorite motif would be the nest, although I love the quail, too! It's all beautiful and your little bunch of flowers is perfect! Enter me the drawing for the patriotic chart, please. hubcap@prodigy.net Thank you!! Enjoy the weddings!

What a beautiful finish Carol. I love the nest too but being from Washington, The Evergreen State, I have to love the pine cone. So funny about the antlers who would have ever guessed? Happy traveling to you . I do know how you feel. Flying is not in my category of fun thing to do. We leave Mon. for a week in Alabama, worth the hassle to see my darling grand children and my son and DIL.

Love the big finish! I enjoyed reading about the changes you made too. Yes, I've sent things to Jill to be framed -- she's wonderful and does such a great job! Of course, this was years ago -- I think it was when she was very busy, but not as busy as she is now. Anyway, go for it! she's well worth it -- and I didn't think she was too expensive either. Very reasonable IMO. Also, she sends your piece back so well packaged. She's amazing!

Congratulations on the Happy Dance for Walk in the Woods. I love the little posy you put in there but my favourite motif is the egg in the nest because it reminds me of Gathering Eggs!We get deer in our garden too, they are small muntjacs which live wild in the nearby marshes.Enjoy the two weddings coming up. Hope you can stitch while you fly!

Your Sampler piece came out beautiful. I would definitely send it to Jill for framing. Her work is fantastic. Love the pics of your garden. I'm sure it's frustrating doing all of that work only for the deer to come mess it up!

A lovely larger project but it still has a delicate look about it. The little nest is really sweet as is the bouquet that you added in exchange for the crown.I didn't know about deer antlers boosting the calcium intake in squirrels and other animals ... amazing what you can learn on a stitching blog.Your flowers and plants are looking nice. I hope you get some warmer days and are able to sit outside amongst them.xx

A fabulous finished, and yes that nest is adorable. Thank you for sharing your garden, it's already blooming with lovely flowers. It's always a joy to attend weddings of family or from college days. It's like a big gathering to catch up and get to know the new additions in the family or introduce the kids to the grand aunt and so forth. Enjoy your upcoming weddings and hope warmer days are soon to come by for you.

Your BIG finish turned out absolutely lovely! I think I like the bird (quail maybe?) and the bird nest the best. Plus, you made it your own by changing the letters and adding the posies. Congrats on your finish, Carol.

I caught three bunnies chasing each other around the yard a few weeks back. I'd never seen such a thing and they didn't even notice I was there!

Oh my, how wonderful your sampler has become. It's a really great pieces with lots of lovely little motifs and details that must be a lot of fun to stitch. I agree with you on leaving the crown away and replacing it with that little posy. A good idea. An amazing finish, Carol. And I'm sure Jill Rensel will find the perfect frame for it.

This will be a very busy month for you, Carol, with two weddings going on in your family. It will be like a coast to coast trip for you. Maybe you are already underway ...

I loved to see your garden pictures, and the bunnies hopping around the rose bush. Our rose bush has just opened its first buds. Everything is a bit late because during the frosty nights back in April some of the plants just froze like my beloved hydrangeas. And my husband says that they won't have flowers this year :(

Such a pretty sampler Carol, I love all the changes you made. I bet it looks better than the original! I think my favouritr motif is the blue and yellow butterfly, closely followed by that sweet nest.Your garden is looking great: will thos bunnies do much harm?My dog chews on an antler every day; I hadn't thought other animals would do the same but it makes sense. I guess I should remember to bring it inside every night before some other critters scarper off with it!Happy days,Jenn

It is a beautiful sampler, Carol, I woud e thrilled to have it completed. I live too far away to use Jill Rensel do my framing. I love her work. I do love the nest & especially the wee violet & the sweet tiny border. I also love your bouquet.Your garden looks amazing all ready for summer. Our garden is almost bare, as we are now in winter. Like you I love to outdoors & stitch in the summer time. Kay.

Your sampler finish is beautiful. From the photos I have seen of Jill Rensels work, it is so wonderful, she is very talented. The garden photos are a joy to see. I hope everything goes well for your family over the next few months.Have a good weekend.

By now, you've probably traveled thousands of miles! But I am still trying to catch up on READING blogs, so better late than never. First, you did a gorgeous job on A Walk in the Woods sampler! All of your modifications seem to fit as if they were part of the original design, in my opinion. I love the bird motif, of course! And as for sending to Jill Rensel... she will do such a good job! I LOVE my Rosemarkie... I pass by it so many times a day, and it just makes me smile! I look forward to seeing it framed! Hope you are having a good time visiting family! Hugs!

Oh this sampler is so gorgeous, my dear friend. The "robins" nest first caught my eye and is my favorite - together with your flower bouquet at the final edge. It looks at if it belongs there ;-)I really love this sampler - gratulation on this wonderful finish.

Oh! And I enjoyed so much seeing photos of your garden and porch. Such a pitty that so many the deer is destroying so much of your plants (oh I know how terribly demotivating this is), but to find such an antler is amazing. Did not know, that squirrels and chipmunks nibbel on antlers. But also Ginger does, so why not ;-)

I hope Summer wheather has finally come to your area and you are enjoying warm and sunny days on your cosy porch.

Wow Meari, vacuuming water out of the basement sure isn't my idea of a good time. We've had some rain up here but it's only been bad both west and south of us. Our rain has been great for flowers and lawns.

Carol, congratulations to you on your gorgeous Walk in the Woods finish! I really like your changes especially the sweet bouquet instead of the crown. I enjoyed the stroll through your gardening pictures; those begonias are gorgeous. Lucky you with having bunnies in your yard; so far, we haven't seen any in our yard. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Welcome!

Welcome ~ I'm so glad you've dropped in for a visit! I love getting to know fellow cross stitchers from around the world, discovering new stitching blogs, and being inspired by your work. I hope you enjoy your visit today and thanks for taking the time to say "hello!"Carol